This post if from the snowfire race team, which is running the AA and winning!!

WOW! What an incredible few weekends of racing we have had this year. My apologies for not sending out this update earlier, but we have had a crazy busy month of January already. As most of you know, Taylor made the cover of the January issue of Whiteout Magazine and that was huge for Taylor. As parents, we could not have been prouder. I, Heidi, a.k.a. Mom, have taken over the updates and press releases. It seems Clark has too many irons in the fire with handling other projects associated with khaox.com Snowfire Racing, so I am taking over this project for now. Just a quick note to our sponsors, family and friends: We dearly appreciate everything you have done for us this year. Taylor is a talented young man and you are helping him to realize his dream of becoming a National Pro snocross racer. Thank you.

Our first weekend of racing in the XMR circuit out of Colorado began with a trip to Grand Lake, CO. Taylor took home three 1st Place trophies, 2 in the Sport Class and one in the Junior 14-17 Class. The XMR circuit is a regional circuit, based out of Craig, CO. It has grown from a small local circuit over the past few years to the largest regional circuit in the Northwest. We are proud to be apart of this circuit and there are a lot of great racers coming out of this circuit right now. Which leads me to our National Race in Sandy, UT two weeks ago.

Taylor had the best of weekends for racing and a weekend that will forever be imprinted in our memories as one of the best. There are weekends during a race season that we wished would never have happened, but this one is not one of those. This was a first for ISOC Nationals to be in Sandy, UT, and Taylor raced his finals in front of one of the largest crowds in ISOC’s history. The race took place in Rio Tinto Stadium and racers from 3 circuits met to compete during this one-day race. Racing started at 8:45 a.m. and lasted until 10:30 p.m. on Saturday. Taylor raced in 2 Sport Classes, Super Stock and Combo. Racing against other racers from 3 different circuits, Taylor finished 1st in all of his heats. As I mentioned before, there are moments in racing when, as parents, we couldn’t be prouder and happier, but Taylor’s 3rd heat of the day brought tears to my eyes. Taylor had the holeshot in this heat and hit the rhythm section 1st. He ran into some trouble about half way through this section and caught a large foam barricade block (a tuff block) stuck between his skis and under the belly pan of the sled. He tried to get it out, but had to pull of the track to get it dislodged. By the time the block had finally come out, Taylor was in last place. Although our team prides itself on good sportsmanship, Taylor still doesn’t like to lose and last place is even less fun. Taylor caught up to the rear of the race pack and picked them off (a total of 8 racers) one by one until he was the first to take the checkered flag in the heat!! We were so excited, yelling and screaming, and that is what racing is all about. Taylor has had many races when he gets out in front and doesn’t have to pass anyone but lap traffic, but not this race. It takes a lot of skill, planning and preparing to be able to pass during a race and it all has to happen within a few laps.

Taylor went on to win both of his finals in the Sport Classes and was so excited to be standing up on the National Podium being interviewed. Taylor thanked all of his sponsors and talked about the track with the announcer. He gave a special thanks to local sponsors, Alpine Assassins and SS Auto Brokers, for coming to the race and providing the Sky Suites for the whole race team and all the XMR circuit racers. A special thanks as well to Nate Blaylock with Klim for bringing Taylor’s Klim Anniversary helmet by; to Clare and Steve Martin for help in the pits and staging; to Tri-County Sanitation for traveling from Pinedale to support us at the races; to Wayne, with Martin Senour Paints, and his family for coming by to meet Taylor and watch the races; and to Moose Creek Catering for sponsoring the weekend’s entry fees. And finally, a big thank you to Jeff Goodwin, Race Director for Ski-Doo, for his interest in Taylor and our race team and for being at the podium when Taylor accepted his 1st Place Trophies. Having Ski-Doo represented at the podium meant a lot to Taylor and he was very proud to be on the podium after winning with his Ski-Doo race sled.

After the race, Taylor autographed copies of Whiteout Magazine and had his picture taken with lots of kids and adults alike. The friends and family and sponsors that showed up gave Taylor an extra boost and we are very grateful for their generosity during that weekend. We are so thankful that all of you were there to share in this awesome moment! It just wouldn’t have been the same!

This past weekend we traveled to another XMR race in Eagle, CO. We had never been to a race in Eagle before and it was adventure just getting there. As in most places this winter, there was very little snow on the ground in Eagle. However, the fine folks in Eagle and the XMR race circuit were able to pull it off with the help of lots of dump truck loads of snow. The track was longer than most and not as wide either. This sort of track makes it very difficult to pass other racers and so getting the holeshot is key. Taylor’s first heat out was a crazy one. He, along with 5 other riders, all took a tumble off their sleds with various injuries and one trip to the hospital in an ambulance. Taylor’s wreck threw him over the handlebars and had his sled rolling and end over end. Taylor jumped right back up and was able to get back on the track and finish 3rd in his heat. Whew, crisis averted. Taylor’s ended up with two first place trophies in the Sport I and II Classes and a 3rd Place in the Junior 14-17 Class. Taylor’s final Sport race on Sunday was a nail biter and he fought off two other racers until the very end. The 3 top racers, including Taylor, were all celebrating and giving high 5s after the race. That’s sportsmanship and another proud moment for his parents.

I hope this didn’t get too long, but I had 3 weekends to cover in this email. Please take a moment and check out the couple of photos of Taylor from the ISOC Western Nationals attached to this email. We will be racing again this weekend and will have a brand new update for you next week. Until then, wish us luck and have a great week.